Fall Feeling

I think it's finally here! I've been waiting for so long!
IT'S FINALLY FALL! 

The weather is perfect: a crisp 56 degree, sunny, and clear.  I can't wait to pull on a pair of boots, jeans, and a sweater and enjoy the Halloween weekend.

We'll be making Halloween shaped treats, handing out candy, and watching a spooky Halloween movie marathon!



And the weather came at the perfect time.  This week I made a fall wreath for our front door. And y'all, the only supplies were 3 hot glue sticks and a roll of discounted ribbon! That's a grand total cost of ONE DOLLAR AND FIFTY CENTS!




I hope you all have wonderful weekends filled with lots of treats!

I Love the Mountains



I love the mountains



I love the rolling hills

 

I love the flowers
I love the daffodils
I love the fireside when all the lights are low


Boom dee ah dah Boom dee ah dah Boom dee ah dah Boom dee ah dah
Boom dee ah dah Boom dee ah dah Boom dee ah dah Boom dee ah dah
Chris and I went camping this weekend in Pisgah National Forest.  
The leaves are turning and they are putting on a spectacular show!



The colors span from bright green to yellow to burning orange to the deepest copper.




We also came across several little creatures out in the woods:

a slithering snake (that I almost squashed)



a very hungry caterpillar who tried to eat our graham crackers


and ladybugs galore!






To really see the difference in the leaves check out this picture from the same area that I took only a month ago:

September 2010

October 2010




Free Puppies!

The last week of so my blog email inbox has been receiving a lot more spam than normal.


I have gotten two emails saying:

fromcreeper
togoodbyedallashelloworld{at}gmail.com
dateWed, Oct 20, 2010 at 6:39 AM
subjectfree puppies for adoption




Hello, i have a beautiful puppy for free adoption............. 
 
And 5 emails saying:
Hello, i am albert by name and i have some money i want to receive from my father, and he ask me to get a chase account or a royal bank of canada account, so that he can transfer a sum of $5,000 into the account asap, kindly get back to me if you can help me, and %20 will be taking away by you.....looking forward to read from you soonest. 
 
 
 
The puppies I could maybe fall for. But the money exchange? Please.
WHO FALLS FOR THIS?

And, y'all who's selling my email address? Is it you? Sad face friends, sad face indeed.

Culinary School Uniform

Johnson & Wales has a strict dress policy.  If you aren't perfectly pressed or have a stain the Chef has the right to send you out of class for the day (and it does happen!).

Everyday I have to wear a clean and freshly pressed chef's coat. My "neck-kerchief" is dark blue meaning that I am a first year culinary student.


I always have a thermometer, sharpie, and pen in my pocket.

My hair is pulled back into a hat.

And my very hideous shoes that need to be shined.

The uniform is super comfy; almost like wearing jammies.  But it definitely isn't the most figure flattering outfit!  On the weekends when I put on jeans, do my hair, and put on some makeup I feel as if I've totally forgotten what I look like!

I don't have class tomorrow and I am so excited to spend a 3 day weekend out of uniform!

New York New York!

Remember back in August when I was all like moan moan moan I don't know what I want for my birthday? Yea. That was lame.

Well, my birthday came and went and was FABULOUS! For the night of my birthday, September 24th, sweet Christian took me out for a sushi extravaganza and we just played all weekend long. I would have taken pictures but I didn't get my birthday present from my mom until last week: it was the camera I wanted! (actually it was birthday money and I bought the camera but it's all the same)

It came Friday afternoon which was perfect because Chris surprised me Saturday morning with my birthday surprise:

A WEEKEND TRIP TO NEW YORK CITY!

We woke up at the crack of dawn, headed to the airport, and I had no idea where we were going until AFTER we got through security!

We had an amazing time. And I wish I had taken 1000 more photos.  I always have a hard time balancing between recording a vacation and just living it to the fullest. We definitely did live it up!

We ate massive amounts of dim sum in Chinatown on Saturday and Sunday. 



Drank delicious beers


Had life changing ruben sandwiches from Katz Deli


And munched on C's favorite food-- falafel!


Saw a car and a man fully covered in sweaters. It was creepy!



Met up with one of my best friends, Melanie, and went to comic con for a little people watching






It was yet another birthday weekend that I will not forget! Here's to 25!

10 things that make me a nerd

Happy Wednesday little monkeys! Deep down I'm a big nerd. But luckily as I gotten older I've realized that this is me, I like it, and I'll embrace it.

1. I love NPR. I seriously have it playing in the back ground all the time-- in the car, while I cook, while doing house work, and yes, while writing blog posts.  It's one of my super nerd habits and there has definitely been a time or two that I've pulled a Michael Bolton from Office Space when I roll up to an intersection with NPR rolling...



2. I am neurotic about my email in box.  It stresses me out if there are more than 20 emails in my inbox.  They must all be sorted into individual folders. They CANNOT just sit there. And I save almost all emails from friends and family-- I can go back into the archives and dig out emails from years ago!

3. I haven't had cable television for over 3 years.  I got rid of it senior year (2007) of college to help me study and have never gotten it back.  I watch some shows online but I have a tendency to get sucked into watching crappy tv for hours so it's better if I don't have it at my fingertips.

4. I love books. I could easily become a book hoarder.  I just don't want to ever give them away and I could spend thousands at the book store.

5. I all filled with random and weird facts.  Did you know that the majority of ants are female? Or did you know that in many countries the PC game mind-sweeper is daisy-sweeper; as mines can be a bit culturally insensitive in place where there has been a history of land mine usage.

6.  I never know the lyrics to songs.  I'm just terrible at it.  Maybe it's because I'm always listening to NPR? But I really think I'm just unable to retain music lyrics. I usually know about 8 words of every song and then will just mumble the rest.  However, I do know almost every word to Don't Stop Believing.

7. Sometimes in the shower I give myself a shampoo mohawk and a Santa beard.

(picture stolen from here)

8. When I don't blog regularly I get worried that people are mad at me and think I'm a bad internet friend.  Then I realize that it's highly unlikely anyone has even noticed or gotten upset and then I feel bad that I felt bad....  

9.  ...so then I write random posts and schedule them to be released during the day.  But when I schedule them I purposely put them at random times like "11:16 AM" so they don't seem scheduled.  Huh, look at the time for this post. Weird. 

10.  Despite my inability to remember lyrics or carry a tune or clap on beat I really want to go sing karaoke soon but only if I can sing Total Eclipse of the Heart (which I totally thought was call Bright Eyes until I just tried to YouTube it-- please see number 6).




turn around.... bright eyeeeeeeessss....

AND I NEED YOU MORE THAN EVVVVVEERRRRRR.

oh, but I need a sweet teased blond wig first...

a regular day at culinary school

Culinary school is exhausting.  I love it and am learning so much but I am tired. Bone tired.

This is the way my day goes Monday through Thursday:

5:30- Alarm goes off
5:45- Drag myself out of bed and directly to coffee maker for my first cup of the day
6:20- Leave for school with yet another cup of coffee in hand
7:00- Class starts on the dot.  We're expected to be ready for lecture and discussion immediately.  Drink 3rd and last cup of coffee during lecture.
8:00- The cooking madness begins!
11:30- Lunch service! My class of 20 makes enough food to feed ourselves and another class. 
12:00- Clean up and review of day's lecture and how the meal went.
1:00- Class dismissed

On Tuesdays I have an additional class about sanitation and food safety management from 1:45 to 3:45. And typically on Fridays we have the day off! Woohoo! 

Getting up at 5:30 is a killer.  I am the furthest away from a morning person that anyone can be.  This morning I was so tired I almost cried over a little frustration on the way to school. 

But, it's worth it.  I have one year in culinary school.  One year to bust ass, one year to learn as much as I can, one year to make it so I can graduate with a perfect 4.0, and if it means getting up at 5:30 every morning and pretending to be a morning person then I'll be there, with my coffee cup of course. 

checking in

Hello lovies,

I'm sorry that I've been so terribly terrible on the blogging front lately.  Our furniture arrived today from Dallas, I'm writing papers and studying for an exam.  I promise I'll update you on my life as soon as it slows down a little!

Right now at school I am in a class about the front of the house (the service aspect of a restaurant).  We are learning practical and theoretical information about restaurant service management. I've never waited tables before and each day in class we serve an entire meal.  I carry a big heavy tray every day!

Here's today's (delicious!!) menu:


Spain and Portugal

“Prior to ordering, please inform the server if you have a food allergy”

1st Course

Gazpacho
Chilled vegetable purée
(Tomato, cucumbers, peppers, onions)

Catalan-Style Vegetable Soup
Catalan-style vegetable soup with saffron, rice and spicy chorizo sausage
(Tomato, onion, garlic, turnips and celery)

Tapas
A selection of traditional tapas

Portuguese Salad
Fresh greens, cherry tomatoes, Spanish onions, tossed with a sherry-garlic vinaigrette

2nd Course

Paella Valenciana (“Pah-ay΄-ah Vah-lehn΄-see ah΄-nah”)
Classic Spanish rice casserole with seafood (shrimp, lobster and clams),  chorizo sausage and chicken, scented with saffron and paprika

Cataplana (“Cah´-tah-plah´-nah”)
Spicy Portuguese dish of littleneck clams, cubed pork loin and potatoes, stewed together with white wine, garlic, and Piri Piri, a fiery condiment of peppers, vinegar and lemon zest

Braised Rabbit with Nuts
Braised rabbit with almonds, pine nuts and with a savory wine sauce

Veal with Sherry
Veal cutlets pounded thin, sautéed and nappéd with a sherry veal demi-glace garnished with smoked ham, olives and mushrooms


“Consuming raw or undercooked meats or seafood may be hazardous to your health”




(If you want any of these recipes I can email them to you! Just let me know hellodallasgoodbyeworld{at}gmail.com)




Have y'all ever waited tables?